So everyone tells you that your priorities will change when you have a baby. They tell you that your entire world will shift on its axis. It’s all true…. totally, 100%

A lot of parents know this to be true but Steve and I got to have two experiences that literally showed us the change and we also were able to watch it happen (in a way).

The first was during labor. My husband crouched besides me in the bathroom of the birthing center helping me through contractions. There was a little gnat that was buzzing around. Naturally to be the most irritating it kept buzzing around my face. I’m trying to focus and visualize my baby and breath and all that and this thing was in my face…. literally. I asked Steve if he could catch it and release it elsewhere….. and I said, “Please don’t kill it. That feels…. wrong.”

He laughed and said he was thinking the same thing.

We were both on the same page. How could we kill something, even something so insignificant, when we were working on bring a new life into this world?

Gnat remained uncaptured…Wily thing.

Fast forward one hour or so later.

Me: “Steve will you kill that damn gnat I don’t care anymore!”

I wanted to care. I still felt bad but the gnat needed to go…. now! That was one way we could see the change in us as parents. 🙂

The next was that we seem to have rats living in our garage. They come and go and have since we moved in nearly four years ago.

Neither Steve or I wanted to kill them. We bought humane rat traps, we researched ways to keep them out, etc. It just seemed wrong to kill them for doing what came naturally to them.

During the week that we brough LA home we realized they were back. My gentle, animal loving husband immediately went to Home Depot and bought rat traps. The horrible, immediate killing ones. Then he bought cheese.

Not only was he now ok with killing the rats in our garage he was gleeful about it. Every time he “caught” one he would gloat. He kept count!

I asked him about the change and he said he just couldn’t bear the thought of “those things” being near his new little girl.

Side note…. this change is not always permanent. We do still love animals and take precautions to make sure the rats can’t come in so “protective Daddy” won’t have to take extreme measures. And even in the midst of the rat removal fest Steve did note that he made sure the traps were as humane as possible and quick. We aren’t terrible… just overprotective 🙂